Walnut Creek, residential city (1990 pop. 60,569), Contra Costa co., W Calif., in the San Francisco Bay area; inc. 1914. It is the trade and shipping center of an extensive agricultural area where walnuts, apples, vegetables, and nursery stock are among the major products. There is food processing and the manufacture of machinery, industrial glass, chemicals, medical instruments, and electronic equipment. Business growth developed greatly in the city and its environs in the late 20th cent., and industry has become increasingly important to the economy. Numerous industrial research firms, corporate headquarters, and a naval weapons station are in Walnut Creek.

Stoney Creek, town (1991 pop. 49,968), SE Ont., Canada. It is a suburb of Hamilton and was the site of an American defeat (1813) in the War of 1812.

Spuyten Duyvil Creek, tidal channel, now a ship canal, c.1 mi (1.6 km) long, SE N.Y., in New York City. It separates the northern tip of Manhattan island from the mainland and connects the Hudson and the Harlem rivers. It is crossed by the Henry Hudson Bridge and the Amtrak RR Bridge; the line was restored to its mainline passenger function in 1991.

Sand Creek, Colorado, site of a massacre (1864) of Cheyenne by Col. John M. Chivington and his Colorado Volunteers. The Cheyennes, led by their chief, Black Kettle, had offered to make peace and, at the suggestion of military personnel, had encamped at Sand Creek near Fort Lyon while awaiting word from the territory's governor. There they were attacked in a surprise dawn raid on Nov. 29, 1864. Chivington and his men, choosing to ignore a white flag, slaughtered and mutilated hundreds of men, women, and children. The atrocity has been the subject of much controversy, and an effort to unearth the site began in 1998.

Rock Creek Park: see National Parks and Monuments (table).

Peach Tree Creek: see Atlanta campaign.

Oak Creek, city (1990 pop. 19,513), Milwaukee co., SE Wis., a suburb of Milwaukee, on Lake Michigan; inc. 1955. Electronic, plastic, paper, metal, and concrete products; machinery; computers; chemicals; and transportation equipment are made there. Truck farms dot the city's surrounding region.

Moores Creek National Battlefield, 88 acres (36 hectares), SE N.C.; est. 1926. The patriot victory over the Loyalists at Moores Creek Bridge on Feb. 27, 1776, prevented the intended British invasion of North Carolina and spurred revolutionary sentiment in the South; the battle is often called the Lexington and Concord of the South. See National Parks and Monuments (table).

Dawson Creek, city (1991 pop. 10,981), E British Columbia, Canada, near the Alta. border, on Dawson Creek and NE of Prince George. An important grain-shipping center, it is the southern terminus of the Alaska Highway.

Cripple Creek, village (1990 pop. 584), alt. 9,375 ft (2,858 m), seat of Teller co., central Colo.; inc. 1892. Primarily a summer resort, it was once a gold-mining boomtown. The discovery of gold (1891) on a cattle ranch created one of the richest camps of a major gold-producing area. In 1901 the district had an estimated population of 50,000. Gold production declined after that year, but the opening of a drainage tunnel in 1941 reactivated formerly flooded mines and led to the discovery of new veins. Violence marked miners' strikes in 1893 and 1904. The old mines and casino gambling are tourist attractions.

Creek, Native North American confederacy. The peoples forming it were mostly of the Muskogean branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Creek received their name from early white traders because so many of their villages were located at rivers and creeks. They lived primarily in Alabama and Georgia and were settled, agricultural people. There were more than 50 towns, generally called tribes, in the confederacy, which was formed chiefly for protection against the tribes to the north. Certain villages were set aside for war ceremonies, others for peace celebrations. Each had its annual green corn dance. This festival was a time for renewing social ties and was a period of amnesty for criminals, except murderers. The Creek Confederacy was not ruled by a permanent central government. The structure was a combination of democratic and communal principles. Decisions by the national council were not binding on towns or individuals who wished to dissent. Nevertheless, civil strife was almost unknown among them. Private ownership of land was unknown, but crops were privately owned to a degree. Each owner was required to contribute a certain portion for public use.

The Creek impressed the first European explorers (Hernando De Soto saw them in 1540) by their height, their proud bearing, and their love of ornament. They were hostile to the Spanish and therefore friendly to the British in colonial days, but, frightened by white encroachment and fired by the teachings of the Shawnee chief Tecumseh, they rebelled in the Creek War of 1813-14. They massacred a large number of American settlers at Fort Mims, and Andrew Jackson won part of his reputation by defeating them at the battle of Horseshoe Bend. By a treaty signed in 1814 the Creek ceded approximately two thirds of their land to the United States, and subsequent cessions further reduced their holdings. Eventually they were moved to the Indian Territory, where they became one of the Five Civilized Tribes. A treaty signed by the confederacy in 1889 permitted white settlement of their lands, and there was great bitterness among the Creek. In 1990 there were over 45,000 Creek, most of them living in Oklahoma.

Cedar Creek, small tributary of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, N of Strasburg, N Va. It was the scene of a Civil War battle (Oct. 19, 1864) in which Union general P. H. Sheridan defeated J. A. Early.

Bonanza Creek, stream, c.20 mi (30 km) long, W Yukon Territory, Canada. It flows NW to the Klondike River near Dawson. The first gold strike in the Yukon occurred there in 1896.

Battle Creek, city (1990 pop. 53,540), Calhoun co., S Mich., at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers; settled 1831, inc. as a city 1859. It is an agricultural trade center known for its cereals. Other manufactures include automotive parts and accessories, moldings, and paper products. Battle Creek Sanitarium (founded by Dr. J. H. Kellogg in 1866 as the Health Reform Institute), a natural history museum, an arts center, and a zoo are in the city. The annual Cereal City Festival is held in June.

or Muscogee

Muskogean-speaking North American Indian people living mainly in Oklahoma, U.S., and also in Georgia and Alabama. A fluid confederation of groups that occupied much of the Georgia and Alabama flatlands before colonization, the Creek comprised two major divisions: the Upper Creeks (living on the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers) and the Lower Creeks (living on the Chatahootchee and Flint rivers). They cultivated corn, beans, and squash. Each Creek town had a plaza or community square, often with a temple, around which were built rectangular houses. Religious observances included the Busk (Green Corn Festival), an annual first-fruits and new-fires rite. In the 18th century a Creek Confederacy—including the Natchez, Yuchi, Shawnee, and others—was organized to present a united front against both European and Indian enemies. Ultimately, the confederacy did not succeed, in part because the Creek towns (about 50, with a total population of perhaps 20,000) were not able to coordinate the contribution of warriors to a common battle plan. The Creek War against the U.S. (1813–14) ended with the defeated Creeks ceding 23 million acres. Subsequently most were forcibly removed to Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Creek descendants numbered more than 71,300 in the early 21st century.

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